


Warmth and Care

by ChibiPanda



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Brothers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda Fluffy, Sickfic, brotp or otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 09:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18635677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiPanda/pseuds/ChibiPanda
Summary: 'Trainee life was stressful and exhausting. It was full of singing, dancing, practice rooms, languages, and countless faceless bodies. New people, young people, talented, attractive, endless forms. Jisung had enjoyed it at first, truly enjoyed it – the challenge, the effort, the new interactions. But many of the people were cold, not exactly friendly, mean even, unwilling to get to know him or befriend him; afraid they’d leave or debut without a second glance. Jisung still enjoyed it, but it was lonely. It was lonely and it was cold.Chris fixed that.'Jisung isn't sure how much his new friendship with Chris can take. But maybe hiding the flu wasn't the best choice.





	Warmth and Care

**Author's Note:**

> Look it's a Sunday!

Trainee life was stressful and exhausting. It was full of singing, dancing, practice rooms, languages, and countless faceless bodies. New people, young people, talented, attractive, endless forms. Jisung had enjoyed it at first, truly enjoyed it – the challenge, the effort, the new interactions. But many of the people were cold, not exactly friendly, mean even, unwilling to get to know him or befriend him; afraid they’d leave or debut without a second glance. Jisung still enjoyed it, but it was lonely. It was lonely and it was cold.

Chris fixed that. Whether the older Aussie knew or cared wasn’t clear, but he helped Jisung more than the younger could even articulate properly.

Chris was warm, friendly, talented, and every other word of praise Jisung could think of. Not that he’d expressed that to Chris, not that he planned to; ever. He decided he would enjoy the warmth and kindness as long as Chris was willing to offer it, and try not to dwell on the inevitable loneliness that would return when the older boy left him.

Their friendship was too new for Jisung to spill his emotional guts, too fresh for him to kill it with emotional attachment, and Jisung had no intention of willingly damaging that. He didn’t want to scare Chris off by being overly affectionate or overly needy. He needed to be worthy – to be talented _enough,_ to be good _enough_ to stay with Chris as long as possible; forever if he could.

This was why Jisung put in extra hours on his dancing before meeting up with the Aussie on Mondays and Tuesdays, it was also why he spent three to five additional hours on his rapping and singing every other day. It was why he now had three different notebooks; one to bring with him on the days he met up with Chris, it was neat and organized, only filled with the final products and things he was proud of; one he wrote in at home, cluttered and full of scratched out words; and one he drafted in, before transferring the songs into their rightful place.

Chris had only seen Jisung’s best work and seemed to find promise in it. Enough promise that he’d willingly taught Jisung how to use some of the mixing software a few weeks ago.

It had been five months and sixteen days since they’d met, five months more than Jisung needed to know he loved his hyung dearly, to know that he’d do anything for the older boy. But probably seven months short of Chris feeling the same level of affection.

Jisung guzzled down the remains of his water and started packing up the few things he’d brought to the studio. Chris was meeting him in a half hour to mess around with some new ideas, and Jisung didn’t want to make his friend wait.

This wasn’t the first time he had gone beyond what was needed to forge a friendship. He tended to latch on – commit one-hundred percent – soon after meeting people. So he was no stranger to discovering months – even years – later that those he thought of as close friends didn’t think of him at all. It always hurt, but he always tried again.

Jisung seemed to always care more about people than they cared about him.

He was starting to think or hope, that Chris was different. The Aussie was very thoughtful, Jisung had seen him go above and beyond to check on the young trainees or message BamBam whenever Got7 was busy.

He was still deep in thought when Chris turned the corner, “Sung? Why are you on the ground outside of the room? Is it locked? You should have messaged me, I’d of come quicker.”

“I’ve only been here for a few, Hyung – was practicing – so don’t worry,” Jisung stood quickly, smiling brightly as he did, “How was your day? Evals are coming up soon! Anything planned?”

Chris chuckled and led the way into the darkened room, “My day was good, busy but good. And no, just like yesterday, I don’t have anything decided yet.”

“Right, sorry,” Jisung was extremely nervous about his first evaluation. He had a nightmare that JYP himself would decide he wasn’t talented enough to represent the company.

“No need to apologize, Ji.” Chris flicked the light switch and pulled out a chair, “I brought food since you’ve been so forgetful lately.”

“Ah, right. Sorry,” Jisung smiled somewhat bashfully, the slightly silver glint from his braces seemed to glitter with the same level of embarrassment, “Thanks.”

“Stop apologizing already,” Chris laughed and placed the assortment of food and snacks on the open table, “You’re nervous, I get it. But you’ll do fine, Ji. I know it. And I am not going to let you starve.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by the crinkle of wrappers and the sharing of notes for the next three hours.

The next few days continued much the same. Jisung woke up, went to his classes – dance, English, Japanese, vocal, rap – then practiced for a few hours alone before meeting up with Chris and working together until late.

Jisung wasn’t sure how to handle the current level of stress he felt. His evaluation was in less than three hours, he hadn’t slept, he didn’t have anything prepared, and he was about ninety percent sure he needed to throw up. Probably, a hundred percent considering he’d done so eighteen times over the last three days.

The first three times had been in secret. Hidden away in the last stall on a floor above their normal studio – hidden in fear Chris would find him. The Aussie had asked when he’d returned face damp with water if Jisung was alright. Of course, the younger had brushed it aside.

He didn’t regret hiding from Chris. The older was busy with his own evaluations – his own life. Besides, what would the older do? What could he do?

“Run far away forever,” Jisung felt himself mutter aloud. He dropped his head weakly and pressed it against his knees. He likely had a fever, was probably dehydrated, the flu was most likely to blame. But he was not going to bother his only friend with it. All he needed to do was to get through his recording – just get through this day.

“Jisungie!” speak of the devil, “I haven’t missed your performance have I? My individual session ran long.”

“Nope! Not yet Chris-hyung. I’m slated for one.” Jisung did his best to push past his boiling insides, “I’m nervous…”

“Why don’t we grab a bite to eat then, maybe that will help some.” Chris frowned softly, “but you have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Maybe… Anyway, I’m not sure I could eat. But I’ll come. Might take my mind off of things.” he forced his knees away from his chest and slowly stood; everything ached.

“I still think you should eat something. You’ve been neglecting yourself.” Chris started to lead the way, “If you’re anything like me, anyway. I was horrible before my first eval.”

“Yeah, but you were like a baby. I’m not that young Hyung. I’m fine.”

“You say that,” the cafeteria was mostly empty as many of the trainees worried about their performances. “It’s okay to be worried, but you’ve gotta take care of yourself too.”

Jisung nodded quietly, but with passion – there it was, ‘yourself,’ self-reliance. He continued to nod, slowing down to combat the nausea and dizziness. “Don’t worry, I know Hyung.” Jisung followed Chris through the buffet line, not questioning the Aussie’s use of two plates and a bowl – though impressed by the dexterity. “When’s your filming Hyung?” he asked once the food was paid for and they were about to sit.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Chris placed the bowl, filled partially with plain white rice, down in front of Jisung and the second plate in the space at the center of the table, “Try to eat some, yeah? You look like you’ve lost weight already.”

Jisung did as he was asked, sliding his face mask low and taking a few small bites of the rice, “Decided what you’re performing yet?” the warmth felt oddly good, the weight didn’t.

“Nah. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. I mean, I’ve narrowed it down of course.” Chris shoved a large bite into his mouth with vigor, “Normally I make my final decision based on my mood that day.”

Forcing another mouthful down, Jisung maintained the conversation as best he could, “I wish I could do that. I’m probably going to forget all my lyrics then second the music starts.”

“How’d you pass the audition if that was the case?” Chris tried not to laugh, eyes disappearing in the process, “you had to have performed well that day.”

“Well...yeah,” he slyly pushed the dish away, “but I was auditioning for fun – I wasn’t even taking it seriously.”

Chris continued to laugh, more freely, with such an endeared look Jisung almost wanted to fess up, “Oh Jisungie ~ I’m so glad you got in,” he popped another piece of food into his mouth, “You really are nervous, huh?” he questioned, glancing at the mostly still filled bowl, “How about this, we’ll grab dinner after your eval and curl up somewhere, watch something.”

His stomach might rebel against the idea, but Jisung wasn’t contagious – hopefully. And he wanted nothing more than to hang out with Chris, “Sounds like a plan Hyung.”

The older boy, though smiling, seemed contemplative, “You sure it’s just nerves? You keep shivering…”

“What?” _Was he? It was kind of cold,_ “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Chris seemed unsure but continued to eat seemingly unbothered, “well, if you say so – you can come over regardless. The quads empty – aside from me of course – but they moved Ken and Jinsu out last week. Actually, we should see if you can move in.” he suddenly suggested. “I’ve been told I can make suggestions.”

“Really?” Jisung currently bunked with five other trainees on one of the lower floors. It wasn’t too bad, except Richard – a kid from Canada – was pretty rude and Kwan liked to frighten Jisung every chance he got, “Wouldn’t you get sick of me?” the question came out far more vulnerable than he intended. Jisung blamed the fever.

“No.” Chris set down his spoon, “I’ve told you before, you aren’t annoying. You’re funny and talented and warm.”

Jisung felt heat add to his already hot skin, “I know…”

Chris dropped the topic, but his eyes didn’t seem to agree, “I’ll mention it tonight. Who knows maybe we’ll be roomies before Monday.”

“Oh my god, it’s Thursday…”

With a snort, Chris grabbed his glass of water, “you obviously knew that.”

“Yeah, I guess.” the clock read eleven-fifty-six and whatever food that had managed to slide down Jisung’s throat and into his stomach settled unpleasantly, “I should get back…”

“You’ll be fine. Here, let me just finish up real quick.”

Chris’s love of food and ability to consume it was impressive, though Jisung often feared the older boy would choke to death.

The vorticity of his friend’s appetite wasn’t meshing well with Jisung’s queasiness, however, “I’m gonna run to the bathroom while you finish.” he heard a grunted response but was quick to turn and flee as slowly as his body would allow. The bathroom was blissfully empty, a small mercy he didn’t notice.

There wasn’t much to come up. The few bites of rice – Chris’s wasted money –, the smallest bit of water, and bile. All of which was expelled upon the first heave, leaving the next minute full of painful dry contractions instead.

Jisung looked ill, the mirror made no mistake of that. Skin pale and glossy, his eyes slightly sunken and damp. If it wasn’t for the evaluation, there’d of been no pretending he wasn’t.

He grabbed a paper towel and dabbed off the sweat from his face and neck, putting enough pressure into each motion to drive out the sickly pale that had taken residence. Just sixteen more hours or so and Jisung would be able to just curl up and sleep without bothering a soul.

Chris was waiting for him near the edge of the hallway, typing something into his phone.

“Finished already?”

“I knew you wanted to get back.”

The recording rooms were still full of nervous trainees. A few even more ashen than Jisung and a handful already in tears. Based on the queue, things had been progressing faster than anticipated; Jisung was up in thirty.

True to his word, Chris waited and watched.

And, everything considered, Jisung had done an okay job. As expected, he’d forgotten the lyrics halfway through the song and ended up improvising the whole thing – twice. Regardless, the staff seemed impressed and Chris was smiling.

The adrenaline managed to push aside most of Jisung’s sickness. At least, until he and Chris were about halfway back to the dorms.

It was still plenty of light outside and the roads were bustling with activity. However, Jisung was struggling to notice. The pain in his joints, the nausea, the pulsing behind his ears, and the tightness in his chest seemed to come back in a sudden flood. Numbing his senses and siphoning off his concentration.

“Watch you step Ji!”

Chris’s hands were on him before Jisung understood, preventing the younger from stumbling into the busy road, “Sorry,” his throat felt raw, “Lost my footing I guess. Thanks, Hyung.”

The older boy hummed but didn’t reply. He also didn’t release Jisung’s arm for the remainder of their walk.

The building that housed the majority of JYP trainees was quiet. Between evaluations and their three-day break following, it was unsurprising the tall building was lifeless. Chris had known this, expected it even, and was pleased with how easy maneuvering Jisung up to the room was.

With disturbing compliance, Chris sat Jisung down on the open bed and knelt by the younger. The façade was gone and in its place was a struggling teenager. “So –“

“Huh, what?” Jisung snapped back into reality, “Oh. I guess I zoned out Hyung. Sorry,” he forced a laugh and managed to make it sound natural, “We ordering in then?”

“You’re sick,” Chris sighed.

“No! No, I’m just a bit tired is all. Really. I’m not sick.”

“You’ve been sick for a few days, Ji.”

Jisung blinked owlishly a few times, “No…I’m, I just.”

“I haven’t said anything because I figured you were worried they’d postpone your filming.” Chris placed the back of his hand against Jisung’s hot forehead, “But now I’m wondering if you just didn’t want me to find out.”

The sad edge to Chris’s words caused something in Jisung to shatter. The Aussie sounded hurt, and Jisung hated it, “It’s not that. I just – you’re busy.” His words were slurred with haste and fever, “I didn’t.”

“Okay. Let’s just take your temperature. I’ll get you meds and water, maybe food. And we’ll just chill alright?” Chris patted Jisung’s knee gently, “I’m not mad or anything. I just want to help you feel better.”

Jisung said nothing and watched quietly as Chris hurried off. This was too much. He’d not said anything out of fear he’d drive Chris away – prove that he wasn’t strong enough or good enough. He didn’t want to bother the older boy.

Chris could debut at any time. Debut with the other trainees who were ready. Debut and leave Jisung. Leave Jisung in the same way Chris had always been left.

That’s when the first large hot tear spilled over the surface.

Jisung was afraid Chris wouldn’t accept him, but he was equally terrified Chris would leave him without a second glance.

Should leave him really. Jisung was nothing – just a green trainee with average talent, who tended to get emotional, was too clumsy, too loud, too obnoxious. He wasn’t ever going to add to a group. Not the way he wanted to if he was even lucky enough to ever be added.

“Hey. Hey, woah, Ji. What’s wrong? What happened?” Chris returned with a damp cloth and the thermometer his mother had sent him. He gently wiped Jisung’s face with the towel, “You must feel pretty awful, huh?” he activated the thermometer and placed it, “I don’t have as much here as I thought, but the convince store is only a block away. The doctor is close too if you need to go. So don’t worry Sungie. Just let Hyung take care of you.”

Chris continued to rub down Jisung’s face and clean the younger’s tears until the small device beeped and the black digital numbers blinked back at him.

“How the hell did you perform today? How did you even get out of bed Sung…You’ve got a temp of 39.6… You shouldn’t even be out of bed.”

“I’m sorry,” Jisung managed thickly still lost somewhere in his brain spiral.

“That’s not,” Chris paused a moment uncertainly, “I’m going to run to the store and get some things alright?”

“Don’t,”

“It will only take a few minutes Jisungie, okay? I need to get your fever down and make sure I have things here you might need.” He ran his hand through the younger’s damp hair, “Promise. You’ll feel better after you get some medicine and stuff. Here, wait a sec.”

Chris dashed off again, returning less than a minute later with a full bottle of blue Gatorade, “Drink slowly.” The older turned to his tightly packed closet and pulled out some black clothes.  “Put there on while I’m gone too. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

He dashed off again and Jisung heard the front door swing shut. Slowly, he took a sip from the blue liquid Chris had opened for him. The cold felt good against his throat, but even his boiling brain worried it wouldn’t sit well in his stomach.

With effort, Jisung grabbed the pile of clothes and walked to the adjacent bathroom. His eyes were still damp and red, but they were no longer producing tears. A chill ran over him as he peeled off his clothing and pulled Chris’s warm clean sweats on. The motion made Jisung’s gut contract painfully and he swallowed back a gag.

After a few minutes, nausea settled again and he made his way back to Chris’s room, he decided against laying on the Aussie’s bed and instead he lowered himself onto the empty one nearby. It felt good to not be standing – or jumping, or singing. But his head still felt as though it was spinning.

Jisung hadn’t been back in the bedroom for more than five minutes when the front door opened and closed again.

“Sung?” Chris was panting slightly, as he poked his head into the bedroom, “See, I’m back. I’m gonna get these things sorted and be right back with medicine.” He paused a moment longer but soon retreated off again.

“Told you I’d be quick,” Chris said when he returned about a half a minute later, “Now, medicine. Come on, sit up.”

Jisung did as he was told, careful not to spike up nausea, “Thank you Hyung.” He muttered grabbing the assortment of medicine offered.

“This should help with fever – and nausea…I assumed you’d been feeling sick since you didn’t eat anything earlier,” Chris watched Jisung nod slowly and continued, “Now we wait a bit for that to kick in. You drink the Gatorade – slowly. Then, I’ll get you something easy to eat.”

Jisung muttered his thanks again and ducked his head trying to cover the new – still mortifying – tears that had started to cascade over, “I’m sorry you have to deal with me though.”

“You know you’re one of my best friends, right?”

Jisung forgot his teary eyes and snapped his head up, gawking, “Really?”

The flash of hurt was quickly replaced with concern, “Of course Sungie. Why would we hang out so much otherwise? Why would I ask about getting you switched into this dorm?”

“Because you’re nice?”

“Jisung?”

“What? It could be the reason…you are nice…”

“Jisung,”

“You ARE nice. And I’m loud and annoying and a child and not as skilled as you and…you’re nice. So yeah…”

“Jisung,” Chris quietly repeated a third time, “You didn’t tell me you were sick because I am ‘nice?’ You think I hang out with you because I am ‘nice?’”

“No. It’s not that. I just,” Jisung wined, “My brain’s boiling Hyung…”

Chris ran his hand through Jisung’s hair, chuckling kindly. “It is, but considering you managed to improvise two different versions of lyrics ‘while’ your brain was burning – I’m guessing it’s not past the point of no return.” He grabbed the mostly full bottle of Gatorade and handed it once again to Jisung, “and, you aren’t annoying – loud? Yes, but not always.”

Taking a few small drinks, Jisung glanced at Chris. The older didn’t seem bothered so much as concerned, “Most people get annoyed with me. I just didn’t want that to happen with you.” If not for the already flushed cheeks, Jisung would have been embarrassed by the rising heat.

“Their loss Ji,” Chris stood smoothly, “You should eat. Plain rice shouldn’t bother your stomach. I think there’s some left from the other day, but I’ll make some new.”

“Thank you Chris-hyung.”

“Anytime Sungie. Why don’t you just try to nap a little? Then we’ll eat and watch stuff.”

“Thank you…” Jisung mumbled for probably the millionth time.

“Shut up,” Chris pushed Jisung down and grabbed a spare blanket, “just nap.”

With a nod, Jisung closed his eyes and let the warmth wash over him. He was on the brink of sleep when he felt Chris place a caring kiss to his hairline, and washed away soon after.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! I have another couple fics in the works - a Jisung Jeongin one and another entry in the Sugar AU series. 
> 
> Have a great day!!!


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